


one step, one day at a time

by oathsworn (onelastchence)



Category: League of Legends RPF
Genre: Canon, M/M, Multi, Or as canon as I can make it, Polygamy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-01
Updated: 2016-11-04
Packaged: 2018-08-18 21:44:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 12
Words: 12,000
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8177092
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/onelastchence/pseuds/oathsworn
Summary: Sungu falls in love with Sanghyeok, and then Wangho. He learns, slowly, when the both of them put their selfishness aside to ensure his happiness, that falling in love with two people is not a crime, and he becomes happier with them and the relationship they find themselves in, one day at a time.





	1. Secret

**Author's Note:**

> 1\. Secret.

Keeping a secret from your boyfriend was probably the worst thing that you could do in a relationship, Sungu thinks. And yet, and yet.

 

To make matters worse, Sungu’s secret is probably the worst of them all. How was he supposed to tell his boyfriend that he was in love with someone else?

 

No, Sungu didn’t want to break up with Sanghyeok, because he did still love Sanghyeok. It just so happened that Sungu loved Wangho, too. He hadn’t  _ meant _ to fall in love, hadn’t even entertained a single thought of being unfaithful to Sanghyeok, but Wangho had come into his heart with all the aggression he usually saved for Jungling, and Sungu had fallen, hard and fast.

 

And so Sungu stewed in his own despair and confusion. It was selfish to love more than one person, and even more so to expect someone he was already in a relationship with to accept that their significant other was in love with someone else.

 

“You don’t have to tell him,” Wangho had said, when he had found Sungu in the coffee shop close to both their gaming houses. “I’m fine, just being with you like this. I know you love him- Love him more.”

 

Sungu had shaken his head. “That’s selfish of me. I don’t want to do this to you.”

 

Wangho had respected Sungu’s decision, and here they are now, Sungu standing by himself at the window. He’s staring out, but not seeing. Something brushes against his arm and Sungu jumps, immediately spinning around.

 

“What are you doing here?”

 

“Hyung,” Sungu greets, swallowing nervously. Sanghyeok picks up on that and raises an eyebrow, leaning back against the wall next to the window and crossing his arms.

 

“You’ve been skittish the past week around me,” He casually comments, and Sungu’s awkward smile tells Sanghyeok everything that he has to know. “What’re you hiding from me?”

 

Sungu breaks eye contact, looking away, but Sanghyeok isn’t having any of it. He takes Sungu’s chin between thumb and forefinger, guiding his boyfriend back to face him. “Hey. You know you can tell me anything, right? Is it about the game, or did something else happen?”

 

Sungu doesn’t say anything, and Sanghyeok’s eyes narrow. He sighs and lets out, letting his arm fall limply to the side. “Is it about our relationship? Do you want to break up?” His voice is flat, but Sungu has learned enough of Sanghyeok’s mannerisms to hear the slight tremble of fear in his voice.

 

Startled, Sungu shakes his head rapidly, quickly taking Sanghyeok’s hands in his. “No! No. I- It  _ is _ about our relationship, but I don’t want to break up with you! Never.” 

 

“Then what is it?” Sanghyeok asks. “You’ve been avoiding me. Dodging the question, even. You’re doing it now.”

 

And here, Sungu fidgets. Because he doesn’t know what to do. Sure, Sanghyeok said that he could tell him  _ anything _ , but normally when you said that to your significant other, what are the chances that you’re ready to hear ‘ _ I’m in love with someone else _ ’?

 

“Not a very large chance,” Sanghyeok says, and Sungu jolts out of his reverie. His eyes widen, entire body turning cold when he realizes that he’d spoken out loud. “Not at all, actually.” Sanghyeok’s voice is muted. “Why don’t you want to break up, then, if you love someone else?”

 

“Because I’m still in love with you!” Sungu blurts, desperate to make Sanghyeok understand. How can he though, a small part of him thinks, when he doesn’t really understand what he feels himself? “I love him, but I still love you, I love you  _ both _ and I- I don’t really know what to do.”

 

Sanghyeok stares at him for some time without saying anything, and Sungu squirms under his boyfriend’s stare. He knows that there’s a chance - a very large one, in fact - that Sanghyeok will break up with him because of this, because isn’t it disgusting and selfish to love more than one person, much less want to  _ be _ with both of them at the same time?

 

“Who is it?”

 

“Huh?”

 

“Who is it?”

 

Sungu bites his bottom lip, looking away. Sanghyeok gently caresses the back of Sungu’s hand with his thumb. “It’s okay, I won’t be upset. Tell me?”

 

“W-Wangho.”

 

Sanghyeok exhales in a huff. He doesn’t know what he expected, but the ROX jungler certainly hadn’t been the name he thought his boyfriend would say. 

 

“Does he know?”

 

Sungu nods, taking comfort in the fact that Sanghyeok didn’t seem to be too upset. He doesn’t relax, though, knowing that the tables could turn at any second. “I told him that- I was going to tell you. Because it’s not fair to either of you if I don’t say anything. It’s selfish and disgusting, I know-”

 

“Stop,” Sanghyeok cuts in, frowning. “Don’t say that. Don’t  _ ever _ say that about yourself again, do you hear me, Kang Sungu? You are  _ not _ selfish for this, and  _ definitely _ not disgusting, so don’t ever say that about yourself again, okay?”

 

Sungu hiccups and nods, trembling. “You’re not mad?”

 

“No,” Sanghyeok reassures, wiping tears from Sungu’s cheeks that Sungu didn’t even realize he had shed. He smiles, softly. “So don’t cry, Sungu.”

 

“I’m sorry,” Sungu apologizes. “I’ll try to forget. I love you, and I don’t want to sabotage our relationship; I just thought you deserved to know because it wouldn’t be fair to you otherwise.”

 

“I’m not asking you to forget, silly,” Sanghyeok says. “You can’t stop yourself from loving him any more than I can stop myself from loving you. I don’t want you to torture yourself like this.”

 

“But-”

 

Sanghyeok shakes his head, and Sungu hesitates.

 

“Tomorrow’s our day off, so we’re going to ask Pea- Wangho out and discuss this with him, okay? If it means that you won’t cry any more, I won’t mind sharing you.”

 

“How are you okay with this?” Sungu asks. “How do you know he loves me back?”

 

“Simple,” Sanghyeok replies, smiling. “You’re easy to love.”


	2. 2. Blankets

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Under the blankets where it's nice and warm and- God, get your cold feet away from me!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I would first like to say that this fic is _not_ written in any order and therefore does not follow chronology. Second, I take this chapter to have happened today, after the exhilaration of a Baron steal, Wangho just really wants to preen and be praised by his boyfriends.

“This is a little strange,” Sanghyeok says, head tilted.

 

Sungu and Wangho peek up at him from where they’re hidden beneath the hotel blankets. Their two tufts of hair had been the only things visible before he’d spoken, and now that they were both blinking at him, it was a rather adorable picture.

 

Not that Sanghyeok would ever admit it.

 

“Hyung!” Sungu grins happily. “You’re done with your shower!”

 

Sanghyeok nods, drying his hair with his towel before flinging it over a chair and thinking of whether or not he should make the effort to crawl under the blankets with them or just fall asleep on top of the covers.

 

He decides on the latter, and flops down onto the bed, eliciting a small whine from Wangho when most of his weight falls onto his legs. He feels when Wangho bends his leg and wraps them around Sungu’s waist because of the change in when the lumps in the sheets are.

 

“You’re not going back to your room today, Wangho?” Sanghyeok asks, yawning immediately after he finishes his sentence. He feels Sungu’s hand in his hair, and the soothing comfort of his fingers rubbing at his scalp makes Sanghyeok want to curl up and fall asleep right there and then.

 

“No,” Wangho replies, and his voice sounds as sleepy as Sanghyeok feels. “I told the hyungs that I wouldn’t be back. They didn’t ask, but that’s probably because they know, anyway. Plus, I don’t think Kyungho hyung would complain about having the room to himself for the night.”

 

Sanghyeok makes a noncommittal sound in reply, his eyelids drooping. He’d almost fallen asleep when Sungu’s voice jolts him into wakefulness. “You should come under the blankets, hyung,” Sungu says. “You’ll catch a cold if you sleep like that.”

 

Glaring up at Sungu for disturbing him just as he was about to fall asleep, he receives a cherubic smile in reply, and really, he can’t get annoyed at  _ that _ . Grumbling, he hauls himself up and crawls towards Sungu and Wangho, intentionally putting himself between them just to be as irritating as he possibly can.

 

“Hyung!” Wangho whines, but he still shifts aside to make way for Sanghyeok. Sanghyeok shifts as obnoxiously as he can, fidgeting and being a general menace until he finally manages to get himself tucked under the blankets.

 

Sungu yelps when Sanghyeok shoves his cold feet in between his thighs, and he kicks out, accidentally kicking Wangho in the shin.

 

“Ow!” Wangho whines again, and Sanghyeok laughs. He turns his face over to Wangho and nuzzles him silently in apology before turning to face the ceiling, flushing a little.

 

There’s silence for a while as both Sanghyeok and Wangho flush from the little display of affection, but it’s broken when Sungu starts giggling, and then it becomes full blown laughter. Wangho and Sanghyeok share a glance as they watch Sungu clutch his hand to his stomach and plant his face into the pillow in an effort to stop himself from laughing.

 

The two of them share a glance, wondering if their boyfriend’s gone insane, before turning back simultaneously to stare at him in bewilderment.

 

“Sungu-ah,” Sanghyeok starts, rather hesitantly. “Are you okay?”

 

Sungu continues to giggle, and hiccups once, before he nods and wipes the tears from the corners of his eyes. “Yeah, I just- The two of you are so cute.”

 

“Cute?” They echo simultaneously, and that just sends Sungu into another fit of laughter that he doesn’t recover from for another 30 seconds or so.

 

When he finally manages to calm himself down, he smiles at his boyfriends. “You’re the best midlaner in the world,” He says, directing his words at Sanghyeok. “And you’re arguably the best jungler in the world,” Is what’s directed at Wangho. “And yet the two of you blush just from a nuzzle. You didn’t even  _ kiss _ each other.”

 

“Such a terrible boyfriend,” Sanghyeok says after a moment of stunned silence in which Sungu giggles a little more. “Making fun of us like that.”

 

“Yes,” Wangho echoes his agreement. “You’re so mean, Sungu.”

 

“I think you need to be punished.”

 

Sungu’s eyes widen in realization, and he tries to leap out of the bed, but Sanghyeok’s too fast, grabbing him and rolling them over so that Sungu’s in between himself and Wangho. Fingers, light and fast, aim for Sungu’s sensitive sides, tickling him.

 

“No!” Sungu squeals, trying to get away from the both of them, but whenever he moves to one side to avoid one of them, the other is there to tickle him even harder. “Stop, please, I’m sorry!”

 

“Are you really?” Wangho asks, throwing the blankets off and swinging his leg over Wangho’s hip so he’s straddling his thighs. “Are you really sorry, Kang Sungu?”

 

“Yes, I am, I am!” Sungu cries, giggling uncontrollably as Sanghyeok doesn’t let up. “Please, I’m sorry!”

 

“What do you say?” Wangho asks, looking up at Sanghyeok. “Should we forgive him?”

 

Sanghyeok narrows his eyes, pausing in his ministrations as he carefully considers what Wangho said. He bends down, face close to Sungu’s. “But how do we know he’s  _ really _ sorry? What if he’s lying?”

 

“I wouldn’t lie to you,” Sungu says, and his voice is suddenly so sincere and earnest that it takes the both of them off guard. “Not to the both of you. Ever.”

 

Wangho and Sanghyeok share a look before Wangho climbs off of Sungu, leaning down to kiss him gently on the lips as Sanghyeok moves to shimmer back down into the sheets. Sungu’s still panting slightly from exertion, but they curl around him, Sanghyeok’s face nuzzled into the back of Sungu’s neck, Wangho’s head tucked beneath Sungu’s chin.

 

“Don’t you think it’s kind of ridiculous we’re all using one pillow when there’s 4 of them for us to use?” Sungu questions after a few moments of silence. 

 

“Shh,” Wangho mumbles, batting lightly in the general direction of Sungu’s face. “Don’t question it.”

 

Beneath the blankets, with his boyfriends, Sungu doesn’t.


	3. 3. Searching

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They've made mistakes, and they know it. Today, they lost. But they have time to look for those mistakes and correct them. Then, together, they'll rise up the ranks to be the best in the world.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alternatively titled: More about blankets than the blanket chapter was.

They lost.

 

It was upsetting, yes, and Sanghyeok didn’t understand what it was about the Flash Wolves that they could not seem to overcome, and he hated it. He hated losing, after all.

 

The whole team hadn’t played their best, and they all knew it. The tension in the room was palpable even when coach Junggyun was trying his best to cheer them up and go over their mistakes.

 

He threw himself into solo queue, as did the other members of the team. Even Sungung, who hadn’t participated in the game, threw himself in headfirst, alongside them. There was no laughter today in the SKT training room, only sheer determination and silent concentration.

 

When the time to sleep came around, Sanghyeok refused to leave, even as his teammates, one by one, succumbed to their fatigue.

 

“Hyung,” Sungu calls, and Sanghyeok jolts, startled. “It’s time to go to bed.”

 

Sanghyeok shakes his head. “I want to practice more.”

 

But Sungu isn’t having any of it, and comes over to close the queue the Sanghyeok is in. Sanghyeok wants to protest, wants to yell at Sungu, but Sungu looks at him with a fierce determination in his eyes and Sanghyeok’s words die on the tip of his tongue. “I know you want to.  _ I  _ want to, to make up for what I didn’t manage to do today. But you need to rest, hyung.”

 

Sanghyeok sighs, and gives in. While he himself is stubborn, he knows that there is no fighting with Sungu when he gets like this, especially when he can see the truth in Sungu’s words. He turns off the computer and lets Sungu tug him back into their room.

 

Surprisingly, Wangho meets them along the way, slinking out of the group of ROX players and following them back. Jongin gives Sanghyeok and Sungu a nod that says ‘ _ Take care of him _ ’, to which Sanghyeok nods in return. The ROX Tigers are uncharacteristically quiet, and it’s only then that he remembers that the first seed of Korea had lost their match today as well.

 

The atmosphere is rather subdued, and none of them say a word. The three of them change into more comfortable clothes - Wangho borrowing a shirt from Sanghyeok - and crawl into bed together. They used separate pillows this time, one for each of them, and they stare up at the ceiling, silent.

 

The scene would be comical to Sanghyeok if it had happened under any other circumstance, but with the mistakes that they had all made today, there was no laughter in the room.

 

“I wonder what went wrong,” Wangho breaks the silence. “That we would both lose our games today, especially to who we considered weaker opponents.”

 

Neither of his boyfriends had an answer for him.

 

“We have a week,” Sanghyeok replies after a while. “And you, 4 days. We have time to get ourselves back into a good mentality. Do some self searching, correct our own mistakes. We all had them today.”

 

Sungu makes a noise of agreement, as does Wangho, and then it’s back to silence. None of them are really in the mood to do anything else.

 

“Okay, look,” Sanghyeok starts again. He’s no stranger to defeat, even though he doesn’t like it. They’ve all experienced it before, and it’s a bitter feeling. Sanghyeok, however, remembers 2014, and how he bounced back from it. “We didn’t do very well today, and we know that. We should have been able to take the games cleanly, but we didn’t. That’s something we can’t change. What we  _ can _ change is how we go into the subsequent games. We need to look for our weaknesses and snuff them out.”

 

“Wow,” Wangho says after a while. “Hyung, what happened to you? When did you become so eloquent?”

 

Sanghyeok’s eye twitches. He sits up sharply, picks up the pillow he had been using and slams it down into Wangho’s face.

 

And then, well, the pillow fight starts.

 

It’s catastrophic, because none of them are really watching where they’re hitting, and Sungu jumps off the bed to grab the cushions from the armchair at the other end of the room, and by the end of it, they’re even trying to use the thick blankets as ammo.

 

It ends when Sanghyeok finds himself pinned to the covers by Wangho, Sungu quickly working with him to wrap Sanghyeok up in the blankets, turning him into a burrito. “Two against one,” Sanghyeok complains. “Not fair.”

 

Wangho and Sungu laugh, each kissing him on one cheek and sitting on top of him, straddling him and not letting him go. “Aren’t you the Unkillable Demon King?” Sungu asks, cheeky. “Isn’t 2v1ing your forte?”

 

Sanghyeok sobers at this, and looks away. “Not today, no.”

 

Sungu blinks and opens her mouth to comfort him, but Wangho speaks first. “Didn’t you just tell us that there’s nothing we can do about today’s results and should instead search out our mistakes and work on getting rid of them? Why don’t you try to take your own advice, Lee Sanghyeok?”

 

Sanghyeok blinks, then he laughs. “That’s Sanghyeok hyung to you,” He jokingly reprimands, but then softens. “But thank you. I needed that.”

 

“Wow,” Wangho says again, in the same intonation that he had used when he was talking about Sanghyeok’s sudden eloquence. “Sanghyeok hyung’s saying thank you.”

 

Sanghyeok’s eyes narrow and he quickly rolls to the side, catching Wangho and Sungu off guard. They’re sent tumbling onto the bed, yelping, and Sanghyeok quickly frees himself. He leaps onto Wangho, who gives a small scream he will never admit to letting out and rolls  _ him _ into a blanket burrito.

 

“Hyung,” Wangho whines, struggling helplessly. “Sungu-ah, help me out.”

 

Sungu laughs, shaking his head. He leans down to kiss Wangho softly, almost apologetically. “But you look so cute like this, Wangho.”

 

Wangho sticks his tongue out and sulks, even as Sanghyeok and Sungu laugh.

 

They’ll look for their mistakes and correct them. Together, they’ll stand tall, on the biggest stage in the world.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As a side note, I may not be able to update daily for the next 3 days due to this week being midterm week. I will try, but my midterms do come first.


	4. 4. Utopia

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Wangho would like to stay here like this, forever.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In my mind this takes place maybe Tuesday night perhaps, between weeks 1 and 2 of the Worlds group stage.

“This way please, sir.”

 

Wangho is, very honestly, still not used to being called ‘sir’. He’s only 19 - 18 in international age - after all. He still looks like a 14 year old, and he’s heard more than his fair share of ‘little boy’. Even though he doesn’t  _ want _ to be called ‘little boy’, he still isn’t quite used to being referred to as ‘sir’.

 

The waiter smiles politely and gestures for him to follow, and Wangho does. He’d received a note on the bedside table that he shared with Kyungho hyung that told him to dress well and go up to the bar on the 39th floor. He’d given the name “Lee” tentatively to the waiter and here he was.

 

The door to a private room - A private! Room! - is gestured to by the waiter, who smiles again before he leaves, and Wangho hesitantly pushes the door open.

 

The first thing he sees is the view of the San Francisco city skyline, lit up and beautiful in the night. The second thing he sees is the way Sanghyeok has his arms wrapped around Sungu’s waist, Sungu’s head leaning against his shoulder, the picture of a perfect couple. Wangho swallows, and his heart aches.

 

He walks into the room and closes the door behind him. His boyfriends turn and grin widely when they see him, Sungu quickly making his way over to cup his face gently and kiss him. “You made it,” Sungu says. “Sanghyeok hyung was getting worried that you might not have seen his note.” 

 

“Sorry I’m late,” Wangho apologizes, but Sanghyeok shakes his head. “Nothing to worry about.”

 

Sanghyeok hands him a glass of dark liquid and Wangho raises his eyebrow. “I’m not legal to drink in America,” He reminds him, then narrows his eyes. “ _ You’re _ not legal to drink in America.”

 

Sungu giggles, guiding Wangho to take a sip from his glass, which he does, and- “Ribena,” Wangho deadpans. “Romantic.”

 

There’s a moment of silence, and then they’re all laughing, quickly placing their glasses back down onto the table for fear of spilling their drinks. Here they are, three adolescents, in a private room that they hired for themselves, drinking Ribena out of wine glasses because none of them are old enough to drink in this country.

 

There’s a knock on the door and the waiter from before peeks in. His face is the picture of politeness, and he wheels in a trolley with their food, setting their table. He doesn’t seem to notice - and if he does, he doesn’t show it - the way all three of them are standing so close - perhaps too close - to each other.

 

“Enjoy your meal,” He says.

“What is this?” Wangho asks when the door closes, moving to the table set in the middle of the room. “It looks really good.”

 

Sungu shrugs. “Sanghyeok hyung picked out the food.”

 

“They’re just little plates of food,” Sanghyeok says. “They don’t really have main courses or anything since this is a bar more than it is a restaurant, so I just picked out a bunch of things that sounded good and asked for 3 servings of each.”

 

Wangho places the back of his hand against his forehead, pretending to swoon. “Hyung speaking English to take care of us, Sungu. Isn’t he amazing?”

 

Sungu giggles, and Sanghyeok smacks Wangho, who pouts. Sanghyeok rolls his eyes and kisses the spot where he’d hit, which makes  _ Sungu _ whine for affection, too. He gives in, kissing Sungu on the cheek before flushing slightly and turning to the food.

 

There’s quite a bit of it. There’s something that Wangho thinks might be deviled eggs, a platter of cheese, warm bread, slices of meat and fish, tomato salad, something that looks like chicken lollipops, thinly cut salmon drizzled in olive oil, and Wangho wants to dive in.

 

“Go on,” Sanghyeok says, picking up his own fork. They sit down, starting to eat, sharing snippets of conversation as they do, about their day. Wangho shares with them the shenanigans that his team had gotten up to and they, in return, share the anecdotes they have about their own team. It’s nice, calming, after a day of scrims and never ending games of solo queue.

 

They finish the food rather quickly, starving teenagers that they are. Sanghyeok asks for dessert to be served and they get one each, since there are only three on the menu, deciding to share. Wangho and Sungu get to listen to Sanghyeok’s adorably accented English as he orders. “One caramel corn panna cotta, chocolate peanut butter crunch cake and mini cheesecake trio, please, thank you.”

 

When the desserts arrive, they rotate it between themselves, starting a silly little round table thing that involves taking one spoonful of the dessert and passing it to the next person until they’d finished them.

 

“The view here is really amazing,” Wangho comments, standing up and walking towards the floor length windows.

 

Sanghyeok smirks. “That’s what this place is called, you know?”

 

Wangho turns around, tilting his head in question. He looks like an adorable little puppy, and Sanghyeok kind of wants to kiss him, so he does. “The View,” He answers. “It’s called The View.”

 

Wangho’s face immediately turns from mildly shocked to exasperated, spinning to look at Sungu for help, but Sungu just points at the napkins that have  _ The View _ printed on it, and, well,  _ that’s _ not something he can argue with.

 

Sungu and Sanghyeok come to stand closer to him, Sungu moving to his front so that he can kiss him, slow and sweet - both the kiss and from dessert - while Sanghyeok wraps his arms around his waist in a way not unlike how he had first seen Sungu and Sanghyeok when he’d walked into the room.

 

Wangho melts into the kiss, relaxes into the embrace. He feels safe, like this, content, happy, surrounded by the two people he loves the most. 

 

Yes, he thinks, so, so,  _ so _ in love, this is his own personal little utopia.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> MIDTERM WEEK IS OVER Y'ALL.
> 
> [The View](http://www.sfviewlounge.com/) is an actual place and [here]() is their food menu, from which Sanghyeok ordered their food and desserts. I don't know where the players are staying, but let's just pretend for the sake of fiction that they're at the San Francisco Marriott Marquis. I don't know if the USA has Ribena, either.
> 
> Please do leave me a comment if you're liking this series. It cheers me up a lot and motivates me to write more cute fic. As always, I'm on [Twitter](https://twitter.com/blankingonyou) yelling about nerds playing League of Legends.


	5. 5. Textbooks

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Wangho's in love with his senior, Lee Sanghyeok. Too bad said senior is dating his best friend.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> weak laughter it's been 10 days i'm so sorry writer's block is the bane of my life. also, not canon, because i couldn't find any way of using textbooks in canon so you get university!au. 
> 
> alternatively titled: not really about textbooks but one particular textbook sends wangho's mind into a shitstorm

There was something to be said about getting the textbook of the senior that you had always admired.

 

What it was, exactly, well, Wangho didn’t know. He felt rather pathetic, actually, looking down at the  _ Lee Sanghyeok _ written on the cover of the textbook in neat print. 

 

Wangho knew that there was no way that he would ever be able to  _ be _ with Sanghyeok, considering said senior was already attached.

 

“Ah, you got hyung’s textbook!”

 

And to his best friend, no less.

 

Wangho turns to Sungu and smiles, thinly. Sungu’s the ray of sunshine that he always is, regardless of what day or time it is, and it always manages to brighten up Wangho’s day. Now, however, he can’t help but feel a little annoyed. Why was it that his best friend was always so happy? What was it about Sungu that Sanghyeok liked?

 

Well, there were a lot of things, the logical part of Wangho’s mind says. The jealous part refuses to acknowledge these things, but it didn’t mean that they weren’t there.

 

Sungu was, as previously stated, a ray of sunshine. He was amazing to just  _ be _ around. He was kind, gentle, and he would always lend anyone who needed it a helping hand. It had even been how the two of them first met.

 

Wangho was small in stature, that much was obvious. He was tiny and thin, there wasn’t much to him. Pair that with his snark and reluctance to ever stand down from an argument, he would always get himself in trouble. Sungu had, coming into school with Sanghyeok, seen Wangho on the cusp of being beaten up, and run towards him to fend the bullies off.

 

It had taken one look from the most influential couple in the school to send the bullies running away. Sungu had taken his hand and helped him up, face scrunched in worry. But it had been Sanghyeok’s words that had taken Wangho in.

 

_ “Are you okay?” _

 

Not a man of many words, the concern had been surprising. Sanghyeok was not known for his compassion - in fact, he was pretty much emotionless and didn’t really care about anything that didn’t have anything to do with Sungu or League of Legends. Sometimes Wangho wonders how the two of them even managed to get together.

 

“Hyung’ll be happy,” Sungu continues, jerking Wangho out of his reverie. He’s still beaming at Wangho in that adorable way of his, and Wangho kind of wants to punch himself. It was one thing to be in love with your best friend’s boyfriend. It was another entirely to be in love with your best friend as well. “He’s always complaining that weird people end up getting his textbooks.”

 

“What does it matter?” Wangho replies. “It’s not like he’ll ever use it again.”

 

Sungu shrugs, turning to pull out his own textbook from his bag as their teacher walked into the classroom. “You know how hyung is. He’s weird.”

 

Wangho tries his best to concentrate on the lesson, but his mind is occupied. There’s a large part of him that thinks that he’s betraying his best friend’s trust by even  _ liking _ Sanghyeok, let alone being in love with him. 

 

Sungu seems to notice, because he drags him out the classroom during lunch time and buys food for him while Wangho’s in a daze. He only snaps out of it when Sungu gently hands him his tray so as not to startle him, and Wangho smiles in thanks as they walk towards an empty table.

 

There’s a  _ thump _ when Sanghyeok appears, sitting himself down next to Sungu and ruffling his hair for good measure. Sungu beams, as always, and nuzzles his head into Sanghyeok’s hand before pulling away. Wangho watches this exchange, breath caught in his throat, so caught up in his staring that he doesn’t notice both Sanghyeok and Sungu glancing at him speculatively.

 

That afternoon after school, Sungu invites Wangho to the apartment he shares with Sanghyeok, and Wangho reluctantly tags along. While he would normally have jumped at the idea of spending more time with his best friend, today he wasn’t feeling up to it.

 

Sungu pops a random movie into the player that Wangho doesn’t pay much attention to. He’s more riveted by the way Sungu is snuggled up into Sanghyeok, Sanghyeok’s arm around his shoulder as Sungu leans his head on his boyfriend’s shoulder. It’s sweet, it’s perfect, and Wangho wants to cry.

 

The movie ends, and Sungu runs off to do something in the kitchen. Wangho feels a prickling sensation on the back of his neck, and he turns around to find Sanghyeok staring at him, emotionless as always.

 

Sanghyeok’s lips are really pretty, Wangho thinks. The way they curve up at the ends, giving him an almost kitten-like look. He doesn’t notice Sanghyeok getting closer and closer until Sanghyeok is kissing him, hands on either sides of his face, gently cupping his cheek. 

 

Sanghyeok’s lips  _ feel _ really pretty, too, Wangho thinks hysterically, before it catches up to him that he’s kissing his  _ best friend’s boyfriend _ and therefore he should  _ not _ be enjoying this. 

 

“Ah,” He hears, and he breaks the kiss to stare, wide-eyed, at Sungu, who’s back from the kitchen now. Wangho doesn’t know what to say, having been caught kissing his best friend’s boyfriend by said best friend, and he wants a hole to open up beneath him and swallow him up. “You started without me, hyung!”

 

_ What? _

 

Sungu pouts and sits down next to Wangho so that he’s sandwiched between the two of them. “Hyung and I like you, you see,” He says, taking Wangho’s hands in his own. “You seem to like us, too, so we brought you here to see if you’d like to join us in our relationship.”

 

Wangho stares, in disbelief, and before he can think about it his body moves on its own accord and he nods.

 

Well, Wangho thinks, as Sungu beams and kisses him, too. They’ll figure all this out later.


	6. 6. Light

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Wangho is a tiny thing, hardly weighing anything. Sanghyeok and Sungu find this to be a very fascinating fact.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [quickshot voice] one chapter a day my arse

He’d won.

 

He’d  _ won _ .

 

Of course, it wasn’t something that he hadn’t expected, considering the current form of the ROX Tigers, but there was something about winning that he couldn’t explain, that had adrenaline pumping through his veins. The crowd chanting his summoner ID, like he had always wanted, didn’t make matters any better, and by the time the ROX Tigers had managed to slam EDG into the ground, Wangho was on a high.

 

Running backstage, his teammates had yelled after him not to trip. They all knew where he was going, after all.

 

He bursts into the training room of SKT, startling their manager. He sees Sanghyeok turn around from where he’s stuffing his face with waffles and the surprised look on his face is all he manages to see before he’s jumping into Sanghyeok’s arms, wrapping arms and legs around him.

 

Sanghyeok stumbles back, Sungu quickly coming behind him to steady him with an arm wrapped around his waist. Wangho doesn’t really care, too busy licking the sugar from Sanghyeok’s lips and the inside of his mouth.

 

There’s a lot of coughing and Wangho peels away to Junsik and Jaewan snickering into their fists. He flushes, bright red, hiding his face in Sanghyeok’s shoulder, who snorts and almost chokes on his own saliva.

 

Coach Junggyun has his eyebrow raised, but it’s not like he isn’t used to public displays of affection, Wangho thinks. He lives with Sungung hyung and Hoseong hyung, after all. He can’t complain about something as trivial as Wangho kissing Sanghyeok. 

 

Coach Junghyun ushers them out, his face a mask of indifference as though he’s seen all the public displays of affection the world has had to offer and doesn’t care any longer - which, Wangho figures, is probably true. He’s been with Sungung hyung for so many years, he’s probably used to all the shenanigans that he pulls. 

 

“Practice is over for us today, anyways,” He says, pushing them towards the lifts that’ll take them to the room that Sanghyeok and Sungu share. “Please don’t come back until tomorrow. At least, not with him hanging off you like a leech.”

 

Wangho bristles at that, but Sungu runs a soothing hand down his back to calm him down, and he does. Sanghyeok hefts him higher into his arms. “You’re pretty light,” He comments. “What do they feed you on ROX?”

 

“Yeah,” Sungu pipes up, face mischievous. “If even a stick insect like Sanghyeok hyung can carry you, you must be really light.”

 

Sanghyeok makes a face at Sungu, who laughs and dodges away from the leg that’s trying to kick him. Wangho takes revenge for him by unlocking one arm from Sanghyeok’s neck and poking Sungu in the side with his finger. It earns him a pout from Sungu but a satisfied grin from Sanghyeok. They’re both equally mesmerizing, however.

 

The lift  _ dings _ open and Sanghyeok somehow manages to get himself from the lift lobby into their room, Sungu sliding the key card from Sanghyeok’s back pocket just because he can - and Wangho knows this because he knows that Sungu keeps his own key card hanging from the same lanyard as his Worlds ID. 

 

“I won,” Wangho breathes when he’s thrown onto the bed by Sanghyeok, not even caring that his boyfriend had basically dumped him onto the bed. Sungu crawls up after him, grinning so wide that his eyes crinkle into adorable little crescents.

 

“You did,” Sungu agrees, leaning down to kiss Wangho in reward. Wangho thinks back to the day before, when Sungu had been so ecstatic about his win over RNG and performing better than mlxg had - there had been a hint of sadness in his eyes when he’d thought about his mentor, but nothing could overshadow the happiness he had felt when he’d won. Sanghyeok, too, while he hadn’t been as happy as Sungu had been, had smiled fondly at his boyfriend and let him embrace him in his glee.

 

Wangho hadn’t been able to celebrate with Sanghyeok and Sungu last night, having had his own match to prepare for. He’d seen the bruises Sungu sported near his collarbones, though, had pressed his fingers into them to hear his boyfriend’s stifled moan just before he’d gone on stage. Now, however, now he could properly celebrate with them. Not just his own win, but theirs as well.

 

There’s a nagging voice in the back of his mind that reminds him of New York, of Madison Square Garden, of the semi-finals where one of their teams would be heading home, but Wangho pushes them all to the back of his mind with all the aggression he normally saves for jungling, determined to forget about that for now. 

 

Wangho pulls Sungu down on top of him, losing himself in the kiss. He can vaguely feel the warmth of Sanghyeok as he climbs onto the bed with them, the palm of his hand smoothing through Wangho’s hair, down his body, tracing shapes and swirls with his pointer finger.

 

Sungu makes a sound in the back of his throat before he flips the both of them around so that Wangho is on top of him instead, a comfortable weight on top of him. Wangho huffs at being treated so roughly, but Sungu presses an apologetic kiss to his pouting lips. 

 

“You really are light,” Sungu marvels. “No wonder Sanghyeok hyung can carry you. You hardly weigh anything.”

 

Wangho whines. “Stop talking about my weight and kiss me already,” He says. “Or I’ll kiss Sanghyeok hyung instead.”

 

Sungu laughs at that. “I think he’d appreciate you kissing right now, to be honest,” He teases. “Doesn’t our hyung look kind of lonely like that all by himself?”

 

They both turn to look at Sanghyeok simultaneously, who’s watching them with the most deadpan expression he can muster. Wangho laughs at his expression, then throws himself off of Wangho and onto Sanghyeok, earning a muffled  _ oof _ from his boyfriend.

 

“Still light now?” He asks, smirking, before leaning down to kiss him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In which [Wangho still cannot](https://twitter.com/LOL_Tigers/status/788660855563051008) [lie in bed without all limbs](https://twitter.com/LOL_Tigers/status/788665008666337281) [wrapped around something](https://twitter.com/LOL_Tigers/status/788666147927457792). You know, if you can find him.


	7. 7. Crush

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As the most famous - and arguably best - player of League of Legends, there are bound to be many people with crushes on you. Sanghyeok has to juggle this fact and his two boyfriends.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> part 7 of idiots in love you're welcome <3

Sungu’s boyfriend - one of them at least - just so happened to be Lee “Faker” Sanghyeok, arguably the best League of Legends player in the world. This meant that Sungu would always have to share Sanghyeok with his legion of female fans.

 

Said legion of female fans were also very vocal when it came to professing their love and affection for him. Some were obviously smitten, with what, Sungu had no idea, considering Sanghyeok was so prickly on the outside it was difficult to find the soft, gooey inside - which Sungu had managed to do, thank you very much.

 

There were those who made their crushes on him very obviously known, however, by sticking to him, curling their arms around his, all sorts of skinship. Sungu wasn’t an easily jealous person by any nature, but even he got annoyed after a while of seeing his boyfriend being pawed left and right.

 

Okay, maybe  _ pawed _ was too dramatic a description, but Sungu was upset, okay?

 

After the fanmeet, Sungu sulks all the way back to their practice room, and his solo queue wins were mostly brought about by him imagining that the enemy champions were the girls that had latched themselves onto Sanghyeok so easily. His bad mood catches Jaewan’s attention, who raises his eyebrows and nudges Sungung.

 

“Doesn’t Sungu look angry to you?”

 

Sungung turns, not really intrigued by this, because when was Sungu ever angry? But seeing the frown on his face and the way he was smashing his fingers onto his keyboard was a strange sight, and Sungung tilts his head in question.

 

“Maybe Sanghyeok did something?”

 

“Why is that always the first thing you ask?”

 

Sungung and Jaewan turn around to see Sanghyeok staring at them, face passive, but with an obvious look of irritation in his eyes. Sungung and Jaewan look at each other, then snort simultaneously. “Because,” Sungung says, amused. “Sungu did well in scrims today, and the only reason he would be upset other than his play is because of you.”

 

“What about Wangho?”

 

“Wangho wouldn’t make him  _ that _ upset,” Junghyun says as he walks by, and Sanghyeok shoots his former teammate a look of utter betrayal that has Jaewan and Sungung laughing in their seats. “Even that boy knows his limits.”

 

Sanghyeok turns to look at Sungu then, at the way his brow is furrowed, how intense he seems to be, and sighs. Maybe he  _ did _ do something then. What it was, Sanghyeok didn’t know. He wasn’t someone who knew his mistakes - outside of League, of course - very well, considering his lack of interpersonal skills. 

 

He’d have to apologize, then, for whatever he’d done.

 

When they get back to their room, Wangho is already in it, hair damp from a shower and dressed in his new favourite pair of pyjama pants. He’s on his side, arms and legs wrapped around a pillow as he fiddles about on his phone, as usual.

 

“You’re back!” He grins, sitting up when he hears the click of the door unlocking and opening. He’s adorable, grey hair messed up at the back, and Sanghyeok can’t help but move forward to kiss him.

 

Sungu doesn’t react, and Wangho tilts his head, moving forward on his knees to cup Sungu’s face in his hands. “What’s got you all upset? Normally you’re the first one to kiss me.”

 

Sungu huffs, and this is where Sanghyeok stiffens. He still hasn’t figured out what he’s done to make Sungu angry.

 

“Sanghyeok hyung’s fangirls,” He mutters under his breath, cheeks flushing as though he’s embarrassed to admit it. “They were all over him and- And I couldn’t do anything, and I know he couldn’t do anything either, but I was so- I was just really upset.”

 

Sanghyeok laughs, then, wrapping Sungu in an embrace from behind. He places his chin on Sungu’s shoulder, kissing his cheek. “Silly,” He chides. “You had me worried for half the day, stabbing at your keyboard like that. Jaewan and Sungung hyung had me thinking that you were angry at me.”

 

Wangho snickers. “Well, they weren’t wrong.” 

 

Sanghyeok lifts a hand to flick Wangho gently on the forehead even as the other boy sticks his tongue out in a perfect display of maturity, scooting a little closer on his knees so that he can wrap Sungu in a hug as well.

 

“Pretty much everyone has a crush on Sanghyeok hyung,” Wangho says, mock wisely, but that does not actually come from any place of wisdom. “We, as his boyfriends, must learn to deal with this, my dear Sungu.”

 

This gets Sungu giggling, and soon he’s outright laughing, shaking in their arms as he tries to control himself. He’s tearing up, and Wangho and Sanghyeok stare in bewilderment as Sungu tries desperately to stop himself to no avail.

 

“Sorry,” Sungu manages to get out in between hiccups and hysterical laughter. “I just- What you said sounded so philosophical but it was actually just nonsense.”

 

Pretending to be offended, Wangho sits back on his heels and turns away to huff and cross his arms over his chest. “How dare you,” He says, pouting. “You’re the worst boyfriend ever.”

 

Sungu smiles, holding out his hand towards Wangho to persuade him to come back to their embrace. “Am I really? Isn’t that Sanghyeok hyung?”

 

“Hey!” Sanghyeok protests, and he sounds so genuinely offended that Sungu and Wangho simultaneously burst into peals of laughter, Sungu collapsing down onto Wangho. The two of them clutch at each other’s forearms as they laugh, occasionally heaving deep breaths so they can continue to laugh.

 

Sanghyeok sniffs regally, watching his boyfriends dampen the sheets with their tears as they continue to giggle. “How rude. And you say  _ I’m _ the bad boyfriend.”

 

Sungu and Wangho pause, make eye contact, and start laughing all over again. 

 

Sticking his tongue out - yes, he is actually 20 years old, thank you very much - Sanghyeok huffs. “At least I’m the one people have crushes on.”

 

Sanghyeok is promptly attacked by two pillow wielding boyfriends. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was written to [Never Be Alone](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ic-gZlPFTkQ) by TheFatRat on repeat, for a whole hour. If you are familiar with the LPL question/interview videos, you might recognize some of his music, mainly [Unity](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n8X9_MgEdCg).


	8. 8. Possibilites

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> There are only two possibilities for the results that evening.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> May you all survive this semi-finals with at least a small part of your heart intact.

“9 hours,” Wangho whispers, tucked between Sanghyeok and Sungu. His grey hair is mussed up at the back, the way he always looks when he’d just woken up. Sungu finds it especially endearing, and he runs his fingers through Wangho’s hair.

 

9 hours, Sungu thinks. 9 hours before they have to stand on the biggest stage in the world, and face off against each other. 9 hours before they decide who gets to go to Los Angeles to fight for the Summoner’s Cup, and who has to go back to Korea to lick their wounds.

 

It’s times like this that Sungu hates that Wangho’s on a different team.

 

Any other time, it would be Wangho, Sanghyeok and Sungu. Now, however, in this country, in this city, in _9 hours_ , it wouldn’t.

 

“I’m scared,” Wangho admits.

 

Sanghyeok moves closer to the both of them, his nose buried in Wangho’s hair. “What are you scared of?”

 

There’s a pause. It’s silent, and Wangho doesn’t know how to answer. He’s scared, that much he knows. But what is he scared of? “I don’t know,” He answers in the end, truthfully. “That I’ll lose to you two and have to go back to Korea. That I’ll win and get to go to Los Angeles and maybe win the whole thing. That if I lose I’ll hate you, and if I win you’ll hate me. I’m _scared_.”

 

Sungu shushes him, quickly cupping Wangho’s face in his hands, leaning forward to kiss him, chaste and gentle. “We’ll be okay,” He says. “Whatever happens on the Rift, stays on the Rift. You’re Wangho, I’m Sungu, and hyung’s Sanghyeok. Nothing that happens as players will carry over onto us, okay?”

 

Wangho nods shakily, and Sanghyeok echoes his approval of Sungu’s words with a noise in the back of his throat. Sungu smiles, watching the both of them. Sanghyeok, for one, isn’t really awake yet.

 

“Hyung,” He calls. “You have to wake up, come on. We need to get ready and go down for breakfast, otherwise they’ll send Jaewan hyung up to wake us up again, and we don’t want that, now, do we?”

 

Sanghyeok gives a muffled grunt, trying to bury himself more in the sheets. Sungu laughs, throwing the blankets off of himself as he pads his way over to the curtains. Wangho grins at him, grabbing hold of the blanket and ripping it off of Sanghyeok’s head just as Sungu rips the curtains open.

 

There’s a screech of indignance from Sanghyeok as he tries to stick his head under the pillow, but that is snatched away from him by Wangho, too, and he whimpers pitifully and tries to shield his face with his arms, desperately trying to go back to sleep.

 

“Wake up, hyung,” Wangho calls, bouncing on the bed. He swings a leg over Sanghyeok’s slim frame and rocks himself up and down, being a general nuisance in an effort to get Sanghyeok to wake up. “Come on, come on~ The early midlaner gets the blue buff~”

 

“You mean the midlaner with the non-blue buff dependent jungler gets it,” Sanghyeok grumbles, sitting up and rubbing his eyes with his fists like a child. Sungu coos at how adorable he looks.

 

“Come on, hyung, we have to get ready for the day!” Wangho whines, pulling Sanghyeok up and out of bed, dragging him into the bathroom. Sungu follows after, laughing at Sanghyeok’s misery as he does.

 

He really isn’t a morning person.

 

They push Sanghyeok into the shower and turn the water on cold. Sanghyeok yelps, trying to get out of the spray of the water, but ultimately fails. Eyes narrowing, he pulls Wangho in after him, who gets soaked to the bone.

 

“My pyjamas!” Wangho laments as they get soaked through. “Hyung!”

 

Sungu laughs, but then gripes when he isn’t spared from being drenched, either.

 

They help each other shower, the cold water making it impossible for them to want to stay in the shower, but it helps wake and make them want to get out as quickly as possible. Sanghyeok leaps out first, grabbing towels off the hook and throwing them at his boyfriends as they step out, shivering and grumbling about how cold the water was so early in the morning.

 

There are two possibilities for the semi-finals, Wangho thinks, as Sungu and Sanghyeok dry him and each other off before pulling him in closer to kiss him, one by one. He and the ROX Tigers could win the series, and advance to the finals in Los Angeles. Sanghyeok, Sungu and the rest of the SK Telecom T1 squad could win it and head to Los Angeles instead.

 

He tugs on his ROX jersey, helping Sungu tug his SKT one over his head. Sanghyeok shrugs on his trademark jacket, the one that he never takes off during games. Sungu keeps his in a bundle in his arms, even as Wangho pulls on his own ROX jacket.

 

This will be the last time that they get to see each other, like this, in this hotel room, without any disappointment and weariness from a loss, or adrenaline and happiness from a win. This will be the last time that they get to kiss each other goodbye for the day. This will be the last time they get to stay like this, together, before they come back that very same night, as members of an eliminated semi-finalist and a finalist at Worlds.

 

They hold each other close, closer than they have yet, for a little longer. They pull away from the embrace, smile at each other, and whisper a final _good luck_.

 

They open the hotel room door as Lee Sanghyeok, as Kang Sungu, and as Han Wangho.

 

The ones who walk away from the hotel room door, however, in different directions to head to their respective training rooms, are SKT Faker, SKT Blank and ROX Peanut.

 

It could go either way; There are only two possibilities for the results that evening.

 

_Welcome to Summoner’s Rift._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> They wouldn't want Jaewan to have to be sent to wake them up because Jaewan [wakes people up like this](https://twitter.com/sktelecom_t1/status/786387341824892928).


	9. 9. Heat

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> ~~In the heat of the moment~~ Wangho decides, after his loss, that he doesn't want to see his boyfriends for the night. What he _doesn't_ know is how much this small decision of his affects said boyfriends.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you can still read this after semis aka you haven't cried your eyeballs out, congratulations! [insert ugly sobbing here]
> 
>  
> 
> ~~I kind of lost track of the prompt somewhere, so.~~

“Are you hiding?”

 

Wangho blinks up at Bumhyeon, who’s smiling sadly down at him. Wangho isn’t as used to losing to SKT as the rest are, considering he’s only lost once. But they had come so close this time, they had been one win, one game away from victory, from taking down the mammoth that had always stood in their way, and…

 

And they hadn’t. They hadn’t been able to, because despite their pushing, despite them being an unstoppable force, in the end, the endless pushing was too much.

 

“Hiding?”

 

Bumhyeon sits down at the edge of the bed, running a gentle hand through Wangho’s hair. It reminds him so much of his mother, and in a way, Bumhyeon really was a maternal figure for him. He tries not to tear up, but fails, sniffling.

 

“You’re hiding from them. From Sanghyeok and Sungu.”

 

“I’m not _hiding_!” Wangho retorts immediately, then quickly sombers. “I just- I don’t want to see them right now.”

 

“I think that’s called hiding, Wangho,” Kyungho’s voice comes from the door as he ducks into the room. He isn’t as cheerful as he normally is; They all aren’t.

 

Another loss to SKT.

 

Wangho glares at him. Kyungho was supposed to take his side! He was his precious little brother, wasn’t he? Why was he taking Bumhyeon’s side? “You’re supposed to help me, not go against me!” Wangho gripes, tugging the covers up to his chin.

 

“I would, in any other case,” Kyungho sighs, sitting down next to Bumhyeon and laying his head on Bumhyeon’s shoulder. “But I’ve just had two very worried players come to our room asking for you. I told them that you didn’t want to see them.” He pauses, thinking over how to word the next part. “Sungu looked like you’d broken his heart.”

 

Wangho stays silent and thinks about what he’d said to the both of them that very morning. That he was afraid that if he lost he would hate the both of them. He doesn’t _hate_ them, no, he’s just disappointed that they didn’t make it, that their flight tickets would be booked for Seoul instead of for Los Angeles.

 

He doesn’t hate them, because how could he? He loves them, but right now… Right now Wangho doesn’t want to see them.

 

“Is it childish of me?” He asks, turning to look at Bumhyeon. “That I don’t want to see them?”

 

Bumhyeon sighs. What does he say to Wangho at this point? It isn’t like Bumhyeon himself has a lot of dating experience; He’s only ever been with Jongin. “Maybe,” He says. “But you’re human too, and it’s normal to be upset over a loss, especially one at a stage as large as this one, when you’ve worked so hard for it.”

 

“I feel bad, but- But I just can’t deal with them right now,” Wangho whimpers, tugging the blankets up and over his head. “I feel awful. This sucks.”

 

Bumhyeon and Kyungho don’t hear anything for a while, then the muffled sniffles start, and they share a glance, hearts breaking even more for their youngest member.

 

* * *

 

“Is the Cup worth this?” Sungu asks, voice muted, curled in Sanghyeok’s arms. “We’ve worked so hard all year to get here, and now that we’re here, we’re one win away from hoisting it. But that Cup- Is the Cup worth it?”

 

Sanghyeok says nothing for a while, then asks, “Worth what?”

 

He knows the answer, really. He knows what Sungu is going to tell him, but he asks anyway. Perhaps a masochistic part of him wanted to hear it out loud, the consequences of them getting this far.

 

“Is it worth our relationship with Wangho?”

 

Sanghyeok closes his eyes, and he can feel Sungu’s tears dampen his shirt. How does he answer this? Sanghyeok has never lost like Wangho to the Cup, not like-

 

Not like Sungung hyung. Sungung hyung, who, for every time he’s managed to lift the Summoner’s Cup, has lost an integral part of himself. Sungung hyung, who lost Eonyoung first, grasping onto the remains of their relationship and failing. Sungung hyung, who then lost Gyeonghwan, silently watching, knowing from experience that his efforts would be futile, as Gyeonghwan packed his bags and left. Sungung hyung, who’s lost a part of his heart for each time he’s managed to win the most coveted title in their career.

 

This year, maybe it’s Sanghyeok’s turn to pay.

 

Sanghyeok tightens his arms around his sobbing boyfriend, trying not to choke on his own tears as they threaten to overwhelm him. Sanghyeok isn’t one to cry, after all. “I don’t know,” He answers, truthfully. “I’ve never lost anyone to the Cup. I’ve never _had_ anyone to lose.”

 

“I don’t want it,” Sungu manages through his hiccups. “If it means Wangho will hate us, if it means that he’ll leave us, then I don’t want the Cup. I don’t want the Championship, hyung, I want- I want Wangho with us instead-”

 

Sanghyeok runs the palm of his hand up and down Sungu’s back in a soothing motion, more to comfort himself than to comfort his boyfriend, to be honest. He isn’t used to feeling like this, isn’t used to regret and sadness tearing through him after a win that he should be proud of. It’s a foreign thing, the sheer amount of emotions that are trying to overwhelm and drown him.

 

“I know,” He answers, his voice soft, as muted as Sungu’s had been when he first started the conversation. “I want Wangho, too.”

 

And for him, for two time World Championship winner SK Telecom Faker, who’s lifted the Summoner’s Cup twice and set to press his lips to it for the third time, for someone who wants to be number one, who wants to win and take it home, take it _all_ home, this statement might be strange for anyone to hear, even SK Telecom T1 themselves.

 

But for Lee Sanghyeok, the person, the boy, to say this, is nothing less than absolutely heartbreaking.


	10. 10. Memory

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The memory of their promise is enough to terrify Wangho, but also enough to tide him over (and back into his lover's arms).

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Takes place the day of the H2K vs. SSG match.

Wangho wakes up gasping for breath, eyes shooting wide open. There are tears falling down his cheeks, tears he had shed in his sleep, from his nightmare.

 

“Are you okay?” Comes Bumhyeon’s voice from his side. In the other bed is Bumhyeon, and he realizes that this isn’t his hotel room.

 

“Where’s Jongin hyung?” He asks, voice thick with sleep and tears. Brushing his tears away, he sniffs when Bumhyeon sighs and crawls out of his own bed, moving to Wangho’s and ducking under the sheets with him, tugging him closer into his embrace.

 

“He’s in your room,” Comes Bumhyeon’s reply, a little late, but a reply nonetheless. “He saw you sleeping here when he came back and didn’t want to disturb you; You were already in such a deep sleep he didn’t want to wake you up. He went back to yours and Kyungho’s room.”

 

“Are you okay, though?” Bumhyeon continues, concerned. He doesn’t look at Wangho, knows about Wangho’s pride and refusal to show weakness as long as he can help it. “You were crying out in your sleep. You’re crying now.”

 

Wangho buries his face into Bumhyeon’s chest, tucking his head under the other’s chin. “I’m- I don’t know. I had a nightmare.”

 

Bumhyeon hums, hand a soothing rhythm of comfort up and down Wangho’s back. “Do you want to talk about it? It’s okay if you don’t, but it could help.”

 

“I don’t know, I- We won, in my dream, we won and we went to finals, and we won that, too, but when I tried to lift the Cup it disappeared, and there was Sanghyeok and Sungu and they were holding the Cup,” Wangho manages in between his hiccups, voice muffled. “Then they turned away from me while holding the Cup and just walked further and further away from me, and no matter how much I yelled, cried, no matter how fast I ran, I couldn’t catch up to them.”

 

Bumhyeon doesn’t say anything for a while, then: “You know they wouldn’t do that to you, right?”

 

Wangho shakes his head vigorously. “But what if they do? I didn’t want to see them yesterday, even though we promised, we _promised_ each other that what happened on the Rift wouldn’t carry over to us. We promised after I told them that I was scared, and they were so understanding and-”

 

Bumhyeon quickly shushes him, gently peeling away to rub at the tears on Wangho’s cheeks. The younger’s eyes are red and swollen from crying, his face not any better. Bumhyeon’s heart aches at seeing Wangho like this. “You said they were understanding,” Bumhyeon comforts. “They’ll understand. It probably hurts them that you didn’t want to see them; If anything, they’re more afraid that you’re leave them.”

 

“I wouldn’t!” Wangho quickly cries, alarmed. “I wouldn’t, not for this, I wouldn’t!”

 

“I know,” Bumhyeon says, shushing him. “I know, but do _they_ know?”

 

Wangho turns somber then, and he realizes that they _don’t_. They don’t know that he wouldn’t leave them because of this, because despite the promise that they had made between them, Wangho had refused to meet them after the loss.

 

Wangho doesn’t say anything for a long, long time, and Bumhyeon watches sadly as the youngest member on their team cries himself to sleep.

 

* * *

 

“Our flight is booked for tomorrow,” Is what Sejin says to them first thing in the morning. Or, well, afternoon, considering their sleep schedule. “We have one more day to spend in New York.” Her voice is muted, as are everyone else’s. There’s still the feeling of crushing disappointment from their defeat, as they pack up their things from the practice room that they were provided.

 

Wangho ducks out of the practice room with Kyungho and Seohaeng when they’re finished packing, intent on going out for lunch when he sees _them_ , at the other end of the hallway.

 

Sanghyeok and Sungu, they don’t look like they’re Worlds finalists. They look dead, defeated, and Wangho’s anger spikes. What right did they have to look like that when they won? What right did they have to look so upset when they had taken away Wangho’s chance to hoist the Cup?

 

Sungu turns around, then, and locks eyes with Wangho. Sungu’s eyes widen, surprise the first emotion to colour his face. He takes a step towards Wangho, and Wangho flinches back, expression hardening.

 

It’s then that he realizes why Sanghyeok and Sungu look so defeated. Because the moment Wangho flinches back, Sungu’s face collapses. He curls back into himself, shaking his head when Sanghyeok touches him lightly on the arm.

 

They look like that because of _him_.

 

Because they thought that he hated them. Because he hadn’t wanted to see them after their victory. Because they thought that they had lost him.

 

Memories of his nightmare comes rushing back to him, and Wangho is rooted to the spot for a moment as fear paralyzes him. The thought of Sanghyeok and Sungu walking away from him with the Summoner’s Cup, never waiting for him, never looking back at him, never even stopping when he called for them, it’s terrifying, and it’s oh so very _real_.

 

“What are you doing?” Seohaeng is the first one to ask, voice almost incredulous. “Aren’t you going to go to them?”

 

Wangho looks up at Seohaeng and Kyungho, eyes wide in panic, tears pooling within then. “What?”

 

Seohaeng snorts, but not unkindly. “Isn’t it obvious that they miss you? Are you going to keep this up until you lose them for real, or are you going to go apologize?”

 

_Nothing that happens as players will carry over onto us, okay?_

 

Wangho tears up even more at the memory, of Sanghyeok’s soothing embrace and Sungu’s comforting words, and he _bolts_.

 

He slams into Sungu’s back, who stumbles but then quickly turns around to stabilize the both of them, arms wrapped around him.

 

“I’m sorry,” Wangho wails, sobbing into Sungu’s chest, tugging desperately at Sanghyeok’s arm. “I’m sorry!”

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


_“We missed you, Wangho-ah.”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ROX have safely arrived back in South Korea, and Wangho looked rather cheerful in his stream today. I'm glad he doesn't seem to be too upset - of course, he could be hiding it from us, but I'll take it as it is.
> 
> Sejin is the name of ROX's manager. She's amazing and you should all love her.
> 
> We're 1/3 of the way into this fic! Thank you to all those who've stayed with me, and hopefully you'll come along for the next 20 chapters, too! (๑ˊ͈ ॢꇴ ˋ͈)〜♡॰ॱ


	11. 11. Sky

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Not matter how far the distance between us, we're still under the same sky.

“It’s time to go,” Sejin’s voice jolts Wangho out of his reverie. He looks up from where he had been staring blankly at his phone to see his teammates picking up their carry on luggage. He shrugs on his own backpack as well, hefting it up over his slim shoulders.

 

They board the plane, Wangho taking the window seat the way he had when they’d flown to America from Korea.

 

They were going home.

 

Wangho sighs, upset. He’s had his fair share of disappointment over their loss, as his teammates would know. Bumhyeon, especially, who had comforted him and helped him overcome his pride and his emotions in order to apologize and ask for the forgiveness of the two people that he desperately needed it from.

 

He stares out the window as the plane takes off, taking in the way the clouds move past them as they gain speed and altitude.

 

* * *

 

_“We thought you hated us,” Sungu says, in tears when they get back to the hotel room that they had exited together the previous day. “The Summoner’s Cup isn’t worth losing you.”_

 

_“I’m sorry,” Wangho apologizes for what seems like the upteenth time, but it’s not enough, he hasn’t apologized enough. The distress that he had brought upon them was unforgivable, to him. Sure, the two of them had ensured him that they felt no ill will towards him for the cold shoulder, but he couldn’t help but feel guilty. “I’m really sorry.”_

 

 _“Stop apologizing,” Sanghyeok says, voice low. His eyes are red, and Wangho thinks about Sanghyeok, about Lee Sanghyeok_ crying _, because of him. Someone normally so calm and collected, shedding tears because of him._

 

_He’s probably the worst person on the planet right now._

 

_“You were upset, and we get that,” Sanghyeok continues. “So don’t apologize for being upset.”_

 

_Wangho shakes his head. “I was upset, but I should have said something. I shouldn’t have just ignored you and run away to someone else’s room. It was irresponsible and it hurt the both of you. I’m sorry.”_

 

_Sungu sighs, tugging Wangho closer to the both of them. He’s stiff in their arms, not pliant and comfortable like he normally is. It’s almost as though he doesn’t feel like he can relax around them anymore, not after the previous night._

 

_“The stars are really pretty tonight,” Sungu says, changing the subject. Wangho and Sanghyeok both blink at him in confusion, and he smiles, adorable. “The stars. There are a lot of them out tonight.”_

 

_Sanghyeok glances out the window from where he’s laying, as does Wangho, and Sungu’s right. They slowly get up, one by one, and drift towards the window. Wangho places his hands on the glass, peering out like an inquisitive child. Sungu stands beside him, taking his hand in his own, lacing their fingers together. Wangho tightens his grip on Sungu’s hand, smiling._

 

_Sanghyeok stands behind the two of them, his chin resting on Sungu’s shoulder and one arm wrapped around Wangho’s slim waist. He isn’t as interested in the night sky as the both of them are, preferring to stare at the faces of his two lovers in contentment, their awe lit up by the lights of the City that Never Sleeps._

 

_“Come on,” He says, after a while, tugging the both of them back to bed. “We should go back to bed. We have a long day ahead of us tomorrow.”_

 

_They did. Sanghyeok and Sungu would be flying to Los Angeles, while Wangho would be hopping on a plane back to Korea. It’s a crippling realization that they’re unable to advance together, but it’s reality, and Wangho - all three of them - had to learn to deal with it._

 

_Sanghyeok and Sungu curl themselves around Wangho that night, almost as though afraid that he would slip through their fingers and away from them in their sleep, almost as though they were afraid that it were all a dream. Wangho’s heart aches a little more at that, but neither of them say anything, and he settles down comfortably between them in their embrace._

 

_“Good night, Wangho, Sanghyeok hyung,” Sungu mumbles, voice half muffled by the pillow. Sanghyeok makes a noise in the back of his throat as he shifts and fidgets obnoxiously until he finds himself in a comfortable position, before echoing the greeting. “Good night, Wangho, Sungu.”_

 

_Wangho stays silent for a little while, marvelling in his fortune at having the both of them love and forgive him like this, before he laughs silently to himself, smiling like an idiot. “Good night, Sungu. Sanghyeok hyung.”_

 

* * *

 

When Wangho’s plane lands in Incheon Airport, South Korea, he’s woken up by Sungmin, who’d sat beside him, with a small shake, slightly unwilling to wake the younger one up due to the small smile he’d sported in his sleep, but having no choice.

 

Wangho blinks blearily up at Sungmin, who gives him a weak smile. He quickly packs his things as fast as he can, sliding his glasses back into their case and shoving it into his bag.

 

When they exit the airport, waiting for their usual ride to take them back to the gaming house, Wangho looks back up at the sky. It’s morning here, in South Korea, meaning that it would be night in Los Angeles. He checks the time on his watch, and it’s not too late at night.

 

Sungu and Sanghyeok would probably be free from scrims now, either having a late dinner or practicing in solo queue. Sliding his phone out of his pocket, he debates on whether or not he should do this, but then makes up his mind and walks a little away from his team.

 

Dialling one of the two numbers that he knows by heart, internally cringing at the expense, he listens to the dial tone.

 

_“Hello?”_

 

“The two of you better win it all.”

 

 _“For you.”_ Is the instantaneous reply from the other side.

 

Wangho smiles, then, wide and stunningly beautiful, hand stretching up towards the sky.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ~~Did you see the fortune thing I did there.~~
> 
>  
> 
> I am aware that it is probably impossible to see the stars from a city with as much light pollution as New York, but for the sake of the fic, we will _pretend_. Wangho's final pose is the very cliche anime [reaching for the skies](https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-tOiZc7PXBbY/Uo0QFW5NvwI/AAAAAAAAABM/sVosEEcNLJg/w800-h800/art-anime-sky-16121-935132.png) pose, but I think is cute, regardless of how overused.


	12. 12. Galaxy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "I traipsed the galaxy for you," Sanghyeok says. Wangho kind of wants to cry.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's only been, what 10 days? OTL

Wangho turns on the television in the wee hours of the morning, cuddled on the sofa with his Dylan’s pyjama pants. He has his black goat and hedgehog plushies in his arms, a fleece blanket draped over his legs. His teammates haven’t woken up yet, uninterested in watching the beginning of the opening ceremony.

 

Wangho, however, Wangho’s got two boyfriends in the running for the Summoner’s Cup, and he hasn’t seen them in a week, so he’ll be damned if he misses even the smallest glimpse of them during the opening ceremony.

 

He’s torn between cringing and laughing so loudly he wakes the whole team house when it’s Sanghyeok’s turn to be introduced. He chooses both, Sanghyeok’s gaze through the camera and screen sending him into a fit of giggles as he hides his face behind his plushies, cringing from the second hand embarrassment.

 

Holding in his squeal from when Sungu is introduced, Wangho smiles and rests his chin on his palms. There’s a part of him that’s worried for the both of them, but a larger part trusts in them, trusts that they’ll be able to take the cup home.

 

_For you._

 

The promise that they’d made, when he had landed in Korea, to him. It wouldn’t - could never be - the same as him winning the Cup for himself, as him lifting the Cup the way he had lifted the LCK Championship Cup, but it would be special nevertheless.

 

And, well, if nothing else, seeing the smiles on Sanghyeok’s and Sungu’s faces would definitely be a plus.

 

His teammates slowly filter in from their rooms when the game starts, but Wangho is already too into the game to notice. He watches, crying out in surprise each time something happens, and halfway through the series he’s already on the edge of his seat.

 

They’re ten thousand gold up, Wangho notices, in game 3. They’re going to 3-0 Samsung Galaxy. They’re going to _win_.

 

And then. And then they _don’t_.

 

Wangho watches, despair flooding into him, as they _lose_. With a ten thousand gold lead, SKT lose one team fight at the Baron and they _lose the game_.

 

“Holy shit,” Jongin mumbles beside him, looking significantly more awake than he had the past 3 hours or so when SKT were stomping Samsung into the ground. “What the fuck was that?”

 

 _What the fuck was that indeed,_ Wangho thinks, watching in disbelief.

 

SKT goes on to lose game 4, with Sungu swapping in and then out. Wangho shakes his head and claps his palms to his cheeks when they get into game 5. _They’ll win_ , he thinks to himself. _They beat us, after all. There’s no way that they would lose here._

 

“Never expected Samsung Galaxy of all people to take SKT to 5 games,” Kyungho comments. He’s a lot more relaxed than Wangho is - they all are, really, considering he’s the only one that has significant others on SKT. Sure, they were all close friends with SKT, but friendship and romance was different, after all.

 

“Bengi’s subbing in,” Bumhyeon says. “As long as he doesn’t somehow let Samsung take 4 elemental drakes again, they should be fine.”

 

Wangho shudders. Game 3 had been ridiculous, not just the throw, but the abysmal lack of objective control, had Wangho almost in tears. Okay, not really, but it had been bad, especially when watching another jungler.

 

It takes one mistake from Samsung for SKT to blow the game open, and Wangho quickly gets up onto his knees on the sofa to bounce his excitement, his yelling getting louder and louder when SKT get closer to the Nexus, and he cheers when it finally explodes.

 

ROX are smiling at him, and there’s a hint of sadness in their eyes that Wangho himself feels as well. They’re happy for him, happy for their friends, of course, but there’s always going to be a certain disappointment that it isn’t _them._

 

Wangho included.

 

But now, they can’t do anything about that. Wangho watches as SKT group up, as Sungu runs onto stage to pull Sungung into his embrace, as each member of SKT hugs another, happy, _ecstatic_ for their win.

 

He watches as they lift they walk towards Samsung to shake their hands, and the disappointment on Samsung’s faces seems to echo his own at their loss in the semifinals. When there is a winner, there will, of course, be a loser. It’s how games go, after all.

 

The Summoner’s Cup is lifted, and SK Telecom T1 are, once again, the World Champions.

 

Wangho can’t help but feel small.

 

* * *

 

“We won,” Comes Sanghyeok’s voice through the phone, and Wangho wants to roll his eyes. As though there were any change between them killing Samsung’s Nexus and the couple of hours the press conferences took.

 

“Yes,” Wangho says, not wanting to burst Sanghyeok’s bubble. “You did. The both of you did.”

 

“For you, remember?” Sungu chimes in. “I didn’t do very well, but-”

 

“Hey,” Sanghyeok and Wangho scold at the same time, and they snort, but Sungu seems properly chastised. He knows how they feel about him and his lack of confidence when he doesn’t perform in a game. “Don’t say that.”

 

Sungu nods, but Wangho can still see a hint of disappointment through his grainy screen, and if he can see it, then Sanghyeok certainly can.

 

Sanghyeok tugs on the medal. “See this? You won this. You _deserve_ this. No matter what anyone says, you had a part in getting this for us.”

 

“Okay, hyung,” Sungu smiles, softly.

 

“So!” Sanghyeok announces, grandly. Wangho blinks. “We won, Wangho. For you, like we promised.”

 

“Okay?” Wangho asks, perplexed. “We’ve gone through this already?”

 

“I traipsed the _galaxy_ for you,” Sanghyeok emphasizes, a smug smile on his face. “I took them down and got this for you.”

 

Wangho groans at the pun, hiding his face in his hand, as Sungu giggles at the joke.

 

How he ended up with two boyfriends with such terrible sense of humour, Wangho will never know.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I went to a Worlds Viewing Party and the 3rd game in the series ruined my life. Thanks for taking 5 years off my life, SKT.
> 
> This chapter, I'm afraid, will be the last chapter for the month of November, as I'm doing NaNo this year + it's finals month. I'm sorry to put this off again, but I really do need to concentrate on hitting those 50k words. Rest assured though, that this OT3 will feature heavily in my NaNo. :>
> 
>  
> 
> ~~Basically you're going 1 month without anything from me then I'm going to shoot 50k at you. Wish me luck!~~
> 
>  
> 
> Also. Galaxy. Samsung Galaxy. Get it? //shot

**Author's Note:**

> For the next 29 days (assuming I don't procrastinate and if I don't have any conflicting schedules) there will be 1 chapter of exactly 1000 words uploaded. There will be 30 prompts in total, and they will follow Sanghyeok, Sungu and Wangho through their newly found relationship.


End file.
